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2 CE Credits

• Members - $90
• Non-members - $140
• Students - $40

Workshop Description:

This workshop aims to expand the knowledge of psychologists on how to integrate social justice advocacy into their various professional roles. Social justice advocacy may include the act of speaking up or taking action to make environmental changes on behalf of clients, influencing public policy outcomes with and/on behalf of vulnerable groups, communities, and society. In addition, we will discuss how to generally promote human values of equality and justice in all aspects of psychologist’s work. human values of equality and justice in all aspects of our work as psychologists. This workshop will educate the audience on how advocacy is incorporated into clinical practice, supervision and training, education, and public policy initiatives led by psychologists. Attendees will then engage in a dialogue with advocacy experts in clinical practice, supervision, education, and public policy about how to develop and apply specific skills in these areas of interest.

Workshop Objectives:

1. Define social justice advocacy and the specific guideline and competencies that inform psychologists as advocates.
2. Describe various ways in which psychologists integrate social justice advocacy into clinical practice, supervision and training, education, and public policy.
3. Engage in interactive discussions about how to apply an advocacy framework to your professional area(s) of interest (i.e., clinical practice, supervision and training, education, and public policy).

About the Presenters:

Susan Ferradas

Jon Gorman is a licensed psychologist in Maryland. He is an assistant clinical professor at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, where he supervises doctoral students and teaches a course to first-year Psy.D. students on community outreach and advocacy. He has a private practice in Towson, MD with a specialty in treating clients with distress related to climate change. He has been an active member of the MPA Legislative Committee since 2017. For the past few years Jon has also served on the Joint Outreach and Advocacy Committee of the Climate Psychology Alliance and Climate Psychiatry Alliance, and as part of this committee, he has been participating in legislative advocacy, giving presentations to legislators around the country on the mental health impacts of climate change.

Dr. Shalena Heard is a licensed psychologist who serves as the co-director of the Pathways to Young Adulthood Clinic under the Center for Neuropsychological and Psychological Assessment (CNaP) at Kennedy Krieger Institute. Dr. Heard also maintains a part time private practice Purposeful Assessment, Consultation, and Training Services, LLC. In addition to her clinical roles, she's an affiliate faculty member in Loyola University Maryland’s Department of Psychology. . Dr. Heard attained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Spelman College. She then completed graduate training at Howard University where she attained her master’s in counseling psychology degree and later received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Lehigh University. Dr. Heard is passionate about training and supervision, social justice advocacy in personal and professional spaces, and creating equitable access to quality mental health services. 

Dr. Amber A. Hewitt, is the Chief Equity Officer for the Government of the District of Columbia. In this role, she works in collaboration with District leadership and agencies to apply a racial equity lens across government operations. In 2018, she was appointed by Mayor Bowser to the Commission on Fathers, Men, and Boys. Amber was the Director of Health Equity at Families USA, a national, nonpartisan consumer health advocacy organization. She also previously worked as a health care lobbyist for an integrated, children’s health system. Amber’s background also includes serving as an American Psychological Association/ American Association for the Advancement of Science health policy fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Cory Booker. She began her career as a tenure-track professor teaching undergraduate and doctorate-level courses in psychology, social justice, multicultural counseling and diversity issues at the University of Akron and Loyola University Chicago. Her research on adolescent identity development and well-being, with a special focus on Black boys and young men, has been published in several top-tier academic journals. A counseling psychologist by training, Amber has provided psychotherapy and psychoeducational testing for children and families. She received her B.S. in biological sciences from the University of Southern California, M.A. in psychology from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Simmons University. 

Jessica M. Smedley, PsyD is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a long history of providing direct care and psychological evaluations to adults, children and families across several geographic locations. Dr. Smedley completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UC Riverside, and her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with Marriage and Family Therapy emphasis from University of San Francisco. Dr. Smedley completed her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, where she also completed two additional Masters' Degrees in Christian Leadership and Clinical Psychology, respectively. Her dissertation work was focused in the areas of trauma and spirituality in urban communities. Dr. Smedley continues to be present in academic settings and currently holds adjunct faculty appointments at The George Washington University and Howard University.